Heart of Ice

Heart of Ice has a reputation for being considered the best episode of Batman: The Animated Series as well as redefining Mr Freeze into that of a man driven to his criminal actions due to those who wronged him. An episode like this thrives on pulling at the audience's heartstrings and making you sympathise with the villain (a trend that most of the best episodes in this series have) in this case Victor Fries who's wife was frozen due to an incurable illness. But what makes this standout compared to the other emotional character pieces that this series offers us? If you ask me its the poetic and subtle dialogue. While this isn't my favourite episode in the animated series (we'll get to that later) I wholeheartedly believe Heart of Ice is a masterpiece in storytelling and shouldn't be underestimated just because it's part of a show for children. 10/10.

This is our first look at "Mr. Freeze." He isn't exactly Arnold Schwarznegger, who played him in the feature film, but he's a pretty cool looking villain, some bald-headed guy in a spacesuit. Anyway, he has a personal vendetta against Ferris Boyle, who owns Gothcorp, Inc. Mr. Freeze is stealing items from that company. Batman catches him in one of those raids and is put on ice temporarily. He gets out of it, but catches a cold! He also rescues one of Mr. Freeze's thugs who was left to die at the scene with his legs frozen.

As Bruce Wayne, Batman sees Mr. Boyle at his office the next day trying to see if he knows anyone who might have it in for his company. He finds out a "wacko scientist" whom Ferris thought died in an explosion at his company, might be a good suspect, but he was presumed dead. (Obviously, he's wrong.) Boyle also is a big phony, pretending to be a big humanitarian and having a company advertised as being "for the people," but it's all PR baloney, as he even admits.

Mr. Freeze, alias Victor Fries, already has weapons that shoot something that freezes everything it touches but now he is one step away from having that power in a cannon. Can Batman stop him?

One thing that was different about this episode but was something you see in a lot of modern films is - leaving Batman out of the equation - no good guys. Mr. Freeze and Mr. Boyle were both bad guys. You can't root for either one. And, as the story progressed, they made you almost feel sorry for Mr. Freeze, who was a cold-blooded (no pun intended) killer. They made him more human than the guy he was trying to kill! That's a little twisted, but I hope we see more of Mr. Freeze.

Many moons ago, as a young teenager, I saw this episode and, more so, felt it. I immediately recognized the genius of the writing, story and depth of the character. The moment I saw it, I was changed, as if a spiritual, alchemical transformation had occurred. This episode forever stayed with me, and its profound lessons have echoed on in my life, my character and my actions. The Spirit guided the hands of the creators of this masterpiece.

To those that don't feel a certain affinity to this episode, I highly encourage you to do some serious exploration and see just how this narrative echoes the truth about the enemies we face and how sincerity will always aid in our guidance to adversity; especially when facing the most worthy adversary we will ever face, our Self.

'Heart of Ice' was one of my favorite TAS episodes in the early '90s because of the window dressing; Mark Hamill in a non-Joker villainous role, the cold theme (I was into ice as a kid), and Spectrum Studios animation - it's lavishly rendered. But as an adult, the story structure stands out, what with Hamill's soulless CEO Ferris Boyle balanced out with Mr. Freeze.

But Paul Dini really plays on the tragedy of Freeze as a villain and that's what makes this a series best. He's an extremely well realized character (proficiently so, given the time constraints) who opposes Batman only because some jerk corporate exec imperiled his wife and confined him to a cold suit. The thirst for revenge can consume any of us, even those without a sadistic bone in their body. Batman feels pity for Freeze and shows a certain level of empathy towards him (a little like his supportive relationship with Harvey Dent's struggles with Two-Face). The characterization really does deepen this show to an astonishing degree and 'Heart of Ice' is Exhibit A.

10/10

Heart of Ice is one of the best things to come out of Batman's legacy as a classic comic book character, and it's an episode from an animated television show. The episode starts off so beautifully, with a spinning 'woman dancing in a snow-globe', which is hinted at being someone important to: Mr. Freeze. This is the episode that got me straight into Batman: The Animated Series and I'd dare say that it's still one of my all-time favourite television episodes from any show ever. It starts off well, develops well and ends well. As a Batman fan, I say that Heart of Ice made phenomenal development on Mr. Freeze as a character (he never had a love interest before) and showed that villains can be as deep as the heroes they fight; as a television fan, the screenplay/teleplay (by Paul Dini) is one of the best ever written, and easily the best for an animated superhero show: nearly all the lines of dialogue are crucial to the story.

If you haven't seen any of Batman: The Animated Series yet... what the hell are you doing; go and get started with this episode, chop-chop!